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In South Korea, protesters slashed and set fire to a picture of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday following Pyongyang’s third nuclear test.

Around 20 people rallied in the capital Seoul to denounce the move which took place last week in defiance of United Nations’ resolutions.

Demonstrator Maeng Cheon-Soo said: “We can’t tolerate North Korea’s nuclear weapons. We’re here to urge the people of South Korea to work together to completely denuclearise the North.”

Over the other side of the military demarcation line that separates the two Koreas, the scientists behind last week’s test are being paraded as heroes. A national song has even been written for the occasion called “At a Burst”.

Introducing the song, a female North Korean TV presenter proudly told viewers: “‘At a Burst’ is a song, which fits perfectly well with our people’s character. We launched a satellite at a burst. We conducted a nuclear test at a burst. We can destroy enemies’ hostility at a burst.”

Pyongyang has reportedly already told key ally China that it is prepared to stage one or two more nuclear tests this year. It hopes to force the US into diplomatic talks.